The softball team upset the Eastern Region #6 seeded Rutgers-Camden, 2-1 in game one but then lost game two, 10-9 on Thursday afternoon at Randall's Island. The Bloodhounds are now 11-15 on the season. The Raptors are now 17-9-1 overall.
Game one featured a pitching duel as senior
Sara McKenna threw a complete game, allowing five hits, one run, and struck out four. The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth when the visitor's scored the first run of the game.
In the bottom half of the inning, senior
Jessica Zaccari and freshman
Nalena Cruzado led off with back-to-back singles. The Bloodhounds tied the game up at one apiece on a groundout by junior
Jamie Lam. With two outs and Cruzado at third, senior
Jocelyn Ocasio delivered a go-ahead RBI double to left center to put John Jay up 2-1.
Rutgers-Camden threated to score with the bases loaded in the sixth inning but McKenna retired the next batter. In the top of the seventh, the Raptors had a runner at second with one out. The Bloodhounds turned a double play to seal a 2-1 victory.
Zaccari and Cruzado went 1-for-3 with a run each. Ocasio and senior
Jennifer Varela recorded the other hits for John Jay.
In game two, the guests scored in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The Bloodhounds responded by plating five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman
Lisa Pellegrino, Varela, Cruzado, and senior
Magnolia Perez recorded RBI hits in the inning.
John Jay added another run in the second inning when Perez recorded an RBI single to lead 6-1. In the next frame, the Raptors cut the deficit to 6-5 after scoring four runs in the inning.
Rutgers-Camden regained the lead in the fourth inning to lead 10-6. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bloodhounds had first and third with one out. Lam then laid down a perfect RBI bunt single to bring home Cruzado. Later on in the inning, Perez scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 10-8.
In the fifth, Pellegrino, Varela, Zaccari picked up singles to give John Jay bases loaded. Cruzado came through with an RBI single to cut Rutgers-Camden's lead to one run. Unfortunately, the Bloodhounds could not find a way to tie the game and would go on to lose, 10-9.
Pellegrino and Cruzado were 3-for-5 with two RBI's each. Varela, Perez, and Zaccari picked up two hits each.
The Bloodhounds travel to York College on Saturday, April 18, for a conference doubleheader at 12 p.m.
